The Ingredients of a Walkable Street

 By Dom Nozzi

ملخص : أعداد عبدالرحمن السرحاني
كيف يمكن للمجتمع إقامة شوارع "قابلة لنمشي فيها" ؟ ذالك النوع من الشوارع التي يشعر الجميع بالأمان -- وخاصة كبار السن والأطفال؟ الشوارع المؤنسة  نظرا للأعداد الكبيرة من المستخدمين والمشاة؟ الشوارع الجديرة بالاهتمام ؟ الشوارع التي تولد الراحة؟ الشوارع التي تولد شعور قوي بأن نتفاخر بمدننا؟  . هناك مكونات أساسية لتكوين مثل هذه الشوارع : 1-  كلما زادت أعداد المستخدمين زاد نجاح الشارع ، فمهما كان الشارع رائع المظهر لا يعني قابلية لاستخدام كمكان قابل لأن نمشي فيه بدون ذالك التركيز الودي والعددي للمشاة . 2-لنجاح أي شارع وتحويله لممشى لابد أن يكون مرتبط بمنطقة سكانية بكثافة معقول هاو أن يقوم بدور الرابط بين منطقتين جذب كبيرة. 3-يميل أغلبنا للشعور بالراحة والأمان عندما نتواجد في أماكن نشعر معها بالمقياس البشري فالعلاقة بين الأشياء المحيطة وأحجامها تؤثر على تقبلنا للفراغ المحيط.4- أنشطة تجارية متنوعة ومنتعشة فبغض النظر عن عدد المرات التي نزور فيها شارع مميز ونشط يجب أن نرى ما يلفت الانتباه بحيث تكون المحلات غنية بالروائح والمناظر والأصوات  المشجعة. 5-للوصول لمثل هذه الشوارع الجذاب للمستخدمين يجب إن تكون حركة السيارات بطيئة وآمنة للمشاة وان يسمح بوقوف السيارات على الجانبين بهدف عمل حاجز نفسي وحقيقي للمشاة على الأرصفة ، كما يجب ان تكون عدد الحارات لا تتجاوز اثنتين بحد أقصى 3 متر كعرض لهذه الحارات. ويعتبر من الأخطاء الشائعة إقامة جادات للمشاة فقط بدون سيارات وقد أثبتت مثل هذه الأفكار فشلها في أمريكا لاعتبارات ثقافية واجتماعية لأنها تحد من الكثافة السكانية والوصولية للمكان وتحول المكان لما يشبه مدن الأشباح وعليه عادت هذه المدن للسماح بحركة السيارات في هذه الشوارع.6 – من الأسباب الرئيسية لإنجاح الشوارع التجارية أن تعمل تلك الشوارع بنظام الـ 24 ساعة بحيث توفر للكثافة السكانية المحيطة بها تنوعاً في الحاجيات في كل الأوقات ومن المناسب الحديث عن نوع الأنشطة بحيث يمنع الأنشطة التي يتم توقف العمل فيها خلال فترة محددة مثل البنوك والمكاتب الخدمية لأنها تستقطع جزء من الشارع فتتحول إلى أمكان مهجورة خلال فترات المساء. 7- يفضل تصميم الأراضي على جانبي الطريق بأحجام وعروض قليلة بهدف أحداث تنوع وإثراء للمفردات المعمارية والنوافذ والأبواب. 8-  لابد من توفير الحد الأدنى للحماية من العوامل المناخية وتوفير مظلات وأشجار بحسب الوظيفة واستخدام المظلات أمام المحلات مباشرة لتسهيل التسوق في جو مناسب . 9-  يجب أنتكون الأرصفة رحبة و واسعة بما يكفى وبحسب الحجة حيث أن الزيادة فيها كالنقصان ويفضل أن تتراوح عرض هذه الأرصفة من 3 إلى 7 متر . 10- لابد من أبعاد براميل الزبالة . 11- لابد أن تكون الوجهات المطلة على الشارع نشطة وفاعلة ويتحاشى السماح بالأنشطة التي تساهم في قطع النشاط بطول الشارع . 12 – الالتزام بالحد الأدنى لسعة مسالك وحارات السيارات والتقاطعات وأن تكون متناسبة مع المقياس الإنساني.13- التأكيد على مفهوم الحركة التقاربية فلا يكون طول الشارع مرهق بحيث يصعب الوصول لأجزائه المختلفة. 14 – كجزء من عوامل أنجاح أي شارع لابد من وجود مباني مميزة بصريا بشكل معقول.15- الأنشطة المناسبة بحيث يتم الابتعاد عن الأنشطة الموجهة بالكامل لمستخدمي السيارات.

How does a community create "walkable" streets? Streets that feels safe for all - particularly seniors and children? Streets that are sociable due to large numbers of pedestrian users? Streets that are richly interesting? Streets that provide comfort? Streets that breed a strong sense of civic pride?

There are a number of essential ingredients that a community must use to craft and sustain a walkable street.

Convivial Concentration of Pedestrians. First and foremost, a walkable street must contain relatively large numbers of (preferably friendly) pedestrians. This obvious ingredient would go without saying, except for the fact that there are many who believe that various physical street design features are sufficient to create walkability. Actually, even the best-designed streets are not truly walkable if few walk them. On the other hand, even a poorly-designed street (in the physical sense) can be memorably walkable if it contains large numbers of pedestrians. Very little is more attractive and enjoyable to most humans-an inherently sociable species-than a vibrant, festive place filled with happy, friendly people.

This partly explains the overwhelming popularity of street festivals and public markets that are well known in their ability to create and sustain such gatherings.

Residential Densities. In order for a street to draw large numbers of pedestrians, large concentrations of people must either live within walking distance of the street, or the street needs to be a connecting conduit between two (or more) highly attractive destinations-destinations that are no more than, say, 3 to 5 blocks from each other. For example, a major university campus linked by a Main Street to a healthy downtown.

Human-Scaled Dimensions. People tend to feel most comfortable and safe when they are in "human-scaled" spaces. That is, spaces that do not dwarf them, make them feel insignificant, or over-exposed. Crucially, this means that horizontal and vertical dimensions of the surrounding physical elements of a street are relatively modest in size. In general, this means that streets are no more than two or three lanes wide. In the more urban areas of a town, buildings are pulled up to and abutting street-side sidewalks, and front porches are within "conversational distance" of sidewalks. Surface parking lots are tucked behind buildings and walls. Street lights are no more than 20 to 30 feet tall (modest street light structures effectively establish a romantic ambience). The urban fabric is un-interrupted by gap-tooth parking lots. Instead, a continuous street wall is maintained. Buildings tend to be no greater than five stories, such as is found in Paris. Note, however, that buildings along a walkable street should generally be at least two stories in height in order to more effectively create the pleasing sense of enclosure. And to increase opportunities along the street for vertical mixed use buildings in which a first floor is occupied by an office or store, and above stories are occupied by a residence.

Human-scaled streets create the overwhelmingly pleasant feeling of being within an "outdoor room." And, as a result, creating that all-important "sense of place."

Active and Diverse Retail. An essential ingredient for a street to be walkable in the more urban area of a town is for the street to be lined with a rich collection of healthy, diverse, local retail establishments. Such an assemblage of enterprises ensures people that strolling down such a street will nearly always reward one with a fascinating cornucopia of sights, smells, sounds and potentially satisfying purchases-no matter how often the street is walked.

Traffic-Calming. For retail establishments and residences along a street to be healthy, and for pedestrians to feel comfortable, a walkable street nearly always must contain relatively low-speed motor vehicle travel. The most important way to provide such modest, comfortable speeds is to provide ample on-street parking, which not only slows cars but creates an extremely healthy, safe buffer between the pedestrian and moving motor vehicles. To calm motor vehicle speeds, it is also important that the street be no more than two or three lanes (ideally two travel lanes with "turn pockets"). Travel lanes should be no more than 10 or 11 feet wide. A prominent canopy of street trees and buildings pulled up to the sidewalk also create a moderating influence on motor vehicle speeds. A common mistake is to assume that the ideal form of traffic calming or creation of a walkable street is to create a "pedestrian mall," a pedestrian-only street where motor vehicles are prohibited. However, such malls have nearly always failed in America. The lack of sufficient, nearby residential densities and the cultural dis-inclination to walk or bicycle means that the well-intentioned effort to establish such car-free areas typically (but not always) creates a "ghost-town" atmosphere in which there is so little pedestrian activity that the mall seems abandoned and vacant. Often, such malls end up being so little used that retail along the mall quickly dies from lack of patrons, and many cities that established car-free areas have converted them back to once again allow car travel.

The key is not to ban car travel on a street intended to be walkable, but to design the street in such a way as to obligate motorists to drive slowly and attentively.

24-Hour Activity. A walkable street must be alive day and night, instead of closing down at 5 pm. 24-hour streets tend to be not only more interesting and fun, but also much safer due to the benefits of "citizen surveillance" and "eyes on the street." Again, 24-hour activity is promoted by the development of relatively high residential densities within the walkable catchment area of the street. Residences provide after-hours pedestrian activity as residents will walk to stores, services, culture, parks, and the homes of friends and family throughout the day and night. Studies by the nation's leading investment indicator firms have shown over and over again that "24-hour" cities harbor the most healthy, profitable investment opportunities. Businesses and residences tend to thrive in such cities, which are seen as hip, cutting edge, exciting (yet safe) places to be for what Richard Florida calls the "Creative Class." Some cities find it useful to control and restrict the percentage of buildings along a street intended to be walkable by limiting the number of offices along the street, since offices tend to be closed (and therefore deadening) after 5 pm.

Narrow Lots. An important way to create a lively, exciting and interesting street life is to establish relatively narrow property widths along the sidewalk. Doing so increases the frequency of energy-producing doors, windows and other elements essential to an enjoyable pedestrian experience.

Weather Protection. For comfort in hot climates or rainy climates, it is important on more urban sidewalks to provide awnings or colonnades on the front facades of buildings along the sidewalk. Another extremely important element is a canopy of tall, formally-aligned, same-species street trees overhanging the street and sidewalk (and limbed up so as not to obscure the view of retail building facades).

Wide Sidewalks. It goes without saying that a walkable street should provide sufficiently wide sidewalks. In general, such sidewalks should range from 8 to 20 feet in width, depending on the pedestrian volumes expected. Note that there is too much of a good thing when it comes to sidewalks. Overly wide sidewalks can be just as undesirable as sidewalks that are too narrow, because wide sidewalks that carry only a handful of pedestrians creates the undesirable sense that the area is not very active or alive, whereas a narrower sidewalk with the same modest number of pedestrians can seem "bustling with life." Therefore, it is important that sidewalks use a width that corresponds to expected pedestrian use along the street-striking a balance between pedestrian comfort and the need to create a lively ambience even when there are not enormous numbers of pedestrians.

Unobtrusive Equipment. Trash dumpsters near (or on) sidewalks tend to create an unsightly and often smelly character for the sidewalk. For these reasons, a walkable street keeps dumpsters remote from public, streetside sidewalks, or has dumpsters use compatible, attractive screening. Similarly, outdoor mechanical equipment (such as heating and air conditioning equipment) can create an unattractive, noisy ambience for a public sidewalk. Walkable streets keep this equipment on building roofs or on the side or rear of buildings so that they are remote from public sidewalks.

A powerful mechanism for keeping unsightly, obtrusive equipment away from the public sidewalk is the alley behind buildings, where garbage and utilities can be inconspicuously placed. Walkable streets therefore tend to feature alleys.

Active Building Fronts. Increasingly, streets are neglected and degraded by buildings that turn their back to the street. On a walkable street, the fronts of buildings face the streetside sidewalk. Having doors and ample windows facing the street creates visual interest for the pedestrian, and energizes the street by providing a view of the inside of the building and having pedestrians enter and exit the building onto the sidewalk. Doors facing the street substantially reduce pedestrian walking distances.

Likewise, walkable streets feature residences with front porches, where porch occupants can interact with those on the sidewalk, and where pedestrians can enjoy seeing a home that sends a walkable, friendly character to the public realm, even when the porch is unoccupied. To be an active, interesting street, buildings along a walkable street have very little in the way of blank walls (which creates monotony and reduces security). Garages on walkable streets are recessed to avoid conveying the unpleasant message that a car, not people, lives here.

Modest Turn Radii and Crossing Distances. An important way to create safety and human-scaled dimensions is to create a street which has modest turn radii at street and driveway intersections. Small "corner curves" slow down the speed of turning motor vehicles, and can substantially reduce pedestrian crossing distances. In addition to the value of small turn radii, features such as landscape islands, "bulb-outs" and landscaped street medians can provide a street with attractive features and significant safety increases for the pedestrian crossing a street. Not only does such street landscaping improve the visual appeal of a street, but they also tend to slow down motor vehicles and provide a refuge area for the crossing pedestrian.

Proximity. For a street to be truly walkable, destinations from residences to places of work, school, parks, and shopping need to be in close proximity (no more than approximately one-quarter mile from homes). Note that a useful way to reduce walking distances is, when possible and appropriate, to align sidewalks diagonally. Proximity strongly promotes walking trips, which tends to increase pedestrian volumes on sidewalks, thereby creating a safer, friendlier, more enjoyable sidewalk ambience.

Walkable streets also tend to contain what Ray Oldenberg calls "Third Places." Third places are typically corner pubs, groceries, post offices or other facilities where neighborhood residents frequently run into each other and interactively chat or wave hello. They build neighborhood bonds and friendships, and their ability to act as "social condensers" promotes sociability, familiarity and trust.

Short Block Lengths. Block lengths on a street must be short to create modest walking distances. Generally, a block should be no more than 500 feet in length-preferably 200 to 300 feet in length. Short block lengths are an effective way to reduce motor vehicle speeds. It is no coincidence that the most walkable cities have the shortest block lengths.

Vista Termination. A powerful means of creating a memorable, picturesque street is to locate important civic buildings such as churches, city halls and libraries at the termination of a street vista. Such termination emphasizes the importance and visibility of buildings that are located in such places, which is precisely what should be done with the most important civic buildings in a community. By doing so, civic pride is cultivated, and those within the community are sent a strong message about what the community believes are the most significant institutions in the community. Vista termination also creates the impression that the walk does not seem onerously "endless," as a goal is in sight in front of the pedestrian. As Andres Duany has said, nothing is more satisfying than a prominent civic building grandly terminating a street vista.

Appropriate Businesses. Walkable streets tend to heavily regulate or prohibit the establishment of car-oriented businesses. Such businesses-because they depend on attracting large volumes of motor vehicles-are typically create visual blight, and excessively scaled for large vehicles instead of pedestrians (for example, by incorporating large parking lots between the street and building, or having an enormous building footprint that is difficult to negotiate on foot). Often, such businesses deploy glaring, flashing lighting, and can be the source of substantial levels of noise pollution. Walkable streets therefore commonly prohibit "Big Box" retail, drive-through's, auto sales and service, stand-alone parking lots, car washes, and gas stations. By discouraging pedestrian activity, such businesses drain vitality from public sidewalks.

‏ الاستدامة Sustainability

مصطلح بيئي يصف كيف تبقى النظم الحيوية متنوعة ومنتجة مع مرور الوقت. والاستدامة بالنسبة للبشر هي القدرة على حفظ نوعية الحي التي نعيشها على المدى الطويل وهذا بدوره يعتمد على حفظ العالم الطبيعي والاستخدام المسئول للموارد الطبيعية.

استخدم مصطلح الاستدامة منذ ثمانينيات القرن التاسع عشر أول ما استخدم بمعنى الاستدامة البشرية على كوكب الأرض (مصادر لا تنضب ) وهذا مهد إلى التعريف الأكثر شيوعا للاستدامة والتنمية المستدامة حيث عرفته مفوضية الأمم المتحدة للبيئة والتنمية في 20 آذار 1987: "التنمية المستدامة هي التنمية التي تفي باحتياجات الوقت الحاضر دون المساس بقدرة الأجيال المقبلة  على تلبية احتياجاتها الخاصة".

الاستدامة بمفهومها الأعم تتداخل مع الاقتصاد من خلال الآثار الاجتماعية والبيئية  لذالك النشاط الاقتصادي. اقتصاديات الاستدامة  ترتبط بالاقتصاد البيئي حيث الثقافية والحياة الاجتماعية والصحية ذات الصلة و الجوانب المالية تتداخل بشكل تكاملي.إن التحرك باتجاه الاستدامة هو تحدي اجتماعي حيث يترتب علي ذالك تعديل القانون الدولي والمحلى، والتخطيط العمراني و وسائل النقل، وأنماط الحياةالمحلية والعادات الفردية وسلوكيات الاستهلاك. ويمكن لطرق المعيشة  المستدامة أن تتخذ أشكالا عديدة منها إعادة تنظيم الأوضاع المعيشية على سبيل المثال: القرية الخضراء ،و البلديات الخضراء والمدن المتكاملة بيئياً ، وإعادة تقويم القطاعات الاقتصادية ، والمباني الخضراء، والزراعة المستدامة أو ممارسات العمل الهندسة المعمارية المستدامة ، واستخدام العلم لتطوير التكنولوجيات الجديدة التكنولوجيات الخضراء، والطاقة المتجددة ، بإدخال تعديلات في أساليب الحياة الفردية التي الحفاظ على الموارد الطبيعية

Sustainability is the capacity to endure. In ecology, the word describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. For humans, sustainability is the potential for long-term maintenance of well being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions.

Healthy ecosystems and environments provide vital goods and services to humans and other organisms. There are two major ways of reducing negative human impact and enhancing ecosystem services. The first is environmental management; this approach is based largely on information gained from earth science, environmental science, and conservation biology. The second approach is management of human consumption of resources, which is based largely on information gained from economics.

Sustainability interfaces with economics through the social and ecological consequences of economic activity. Sustainability economics involves ecological economics where social, cultural, health-related and monetary/financial aspects are integrated. Moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from reorganising living conditions (e.g., eco-villages, eco-municipalities and sustainable cities), reappraising economic sectors (perm-culture, green building, sustainable agriculture), or work practices (sustainable architecture), using science to develop new technologies (green technologies, renewable energy), to adjustments in individual lifestyles that conserve natural resources.

New Urbanism

                                                                                                                                                      

العمران المتجدد ( التحضر المتجدد ) هو مفهوم جديد للتعامل مع البيئة المبنية (المشيدة) فيه تحدد الأحياء والمجمعات السكنية المستدامة بأنها قابله للمشي فيها (بأقل عدد من السيارات) ومناسبة للمقياس الإنساني . أن ميثاق العمران المتجدد  يعبر عن مبادئها ويحدد الصفات الأساسية للأماكن الحضرية بداية من المنطقة الحضرية وحتى المبنى الخاص.

 

 

New Urbanism recognizes walkable, human-scaled neighborhoods as the building blocks of sustainable communities and regions. The Charter of the New Urbanism articulates the movement’s principles and defines the essential qualities of urban places from the scale of the region to the individual building. 

 

Making Urbanism Legal Again

Although compact, mixed-use urban form achieved such value before 1950, separate-use zoning codes and high-volume road standards subsequently helped to make sprawl (above) today’s default development option. New Urbanists are providing leaders with tools(and more tools) to reverse course and strengthen the character, livability, and diversity of their communities.

Making Connections a Priority

Through grids of streets, transportation choices, and the sitting of buildings along the sidewalks of compact blocks, New Urbanism brings destinations within reach and allows for frequent encounters between citizens, in sharp contrast to sprawl (right). A key measure of connectivity is how accessible communities are to people with a range of physical abilities and financial resources. 

Celebrating Shared Spaces

New Urbanism makes shared space the organizing element of a community. Architecture physically defines streets as places of shared use. Care for the public realm adds character, builds value, promotes security, and helps residents feel proud of their community. Plazas, squares, sidewalks, cafes, and porches provide rich settings for interaction and public life. 

Achieving Sustainability -- From Building to Region

By focusing development, New Urbanism promotes efficient use of infrastructure and preservation of habitats and farmland. With green building leaders, CNU is establishing new standards for green design at the neighborhood scale. Transportation plays a pivotal role in sustainability and truly efficient transportation – walking, bicycling, and transit use – is only possible where there is compact, urban form. 

Reclaiming Urban Places Once Thought Lost

New Urbanism is repairing the damage done to our cities through environmental degradation, misguided infrastructure projects and designs that isolated the poor. Through the federal Hope VI program, new urbanists have transformed deteriorating public housing into livable mixed-income neighborhoods (left). And in numerous cities, CNU is helping to replace blighting freeways with neighborhood-friendly boulevards. 

Renewing a Ravaged Region

Since the historic October 2005 Mississippi Renewal Forum, CNU members have led planning efforts along the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast, including in New Orleans (left). Master plans, form-based codes, and transportation designs are helping citizens and their leaders forge collaborative visions, while Katrina Cottages (right) have emerged as a new model for affordable emergency housing of enduring quality.

Why Trees Are Important أهمية الأشجار

Top 10 Reasons Why Trees Are Valuable and Important Trees are important, valuable and necessary to our very existence. Our existing forest and the trees we plant, work in tandem to make a better world. الأشجار مهمة وذات قيمة عالية وضرورية لوجودنا ذاته.أن الأشجار القائمة والتي نزرع تعمل جنبا إلى جنب لجعل عالمنا أفضل. وفي ما يلي الأسباب العشرة الأهم لماذا تعد الأشجار مهمة: 1. Trees Produce Oxygen Let’s face it, we could not exist as we do if there were no trees. A mature leafy tree produces as much oxygen in a season as 10 people inhale in a year. What many people don’t realize is the forest also acts as a giant filter that cleans the air we breathe. حقيقة الأمر ، إننا لا يمكن أن يكون لنا وجود لم يكن هناك الأشجار. شجرة كبيرة ذات أوراق تنتج الأكسجين في الموسم الواحد بقدر ما  يستنشق 10 أشخاص في السنة. ما قد لا يعرفه الناس أن تجمعات الأشجار والغابات تعمل كمنقى للهواء الذي نستنشقه.. 2. Trees Clean the Soil The term phytoremediation is a fancy word for the absorption of dangerous chemicals and other pollutants that have entered the soil. Trees can either store harmful pollutants or actually change the pollutant into less harmful forms. Trees filter sewage and farm chemicals, reduce the effects of animal wastes, clean roadside spills and clean water runoff into streams. الأشجار تعمل على تنظيف التربة بالتخفيف من المواد الكيمائية التي نطرحها في التربة أو التخفيف من تأثيراتها السلبية كما تقوم على تنقية ما تنتجه الطرق من ملوثات. 3. Trees Control Noise Pollution Trees muffle urban noise almost as effectively as stone walls. Trees, planted at strategic points in a neighbourhood or around your house, can abate major noises from freeways and airports. تعمل الأشجار على حجز التلوث السمعي بعيدا عن المجاورات السكنية والمنازل بنفس قدرة الجدران الأسمنتية أو الحجرية. 4. Trees Slow Storm Water Runoff Flash flooding can be dramatically reduced by a forest or by planting trees. One Colorado blue spruce, either planted or growing wild, can intercept more than 1000 gallons of water annually when fully grown. Underground water-holding aquifers are recharged with this slowing down of water runoff. تقوم الأشجار على التخفيف من تدفق السيول والمجاري المائية وتحول هذه السيول للمخازن المائية تحت الأرض. 5. Trees Are Carbon Sinks To produce its food, a tree absorbs and locks away carbon dioxide in the wood, roots and leaves. Carbon dioxide is a contributor to global warming. A forest is a carbon storage area or a “sink” that can lock up as much carbon as it produces. This locking-up process “stores” carbon as wood and not as an available “greenhouse” gas. الأشجار تمتص الكربون لإنتاج الغذاء الخاص بها ونعلم أن الكربون هو المسئول بشكل مباشر عن الاحتباس الحراري العالمي. 6. Trees Clean the Air Trees help cleanse the air by intercepting airborne particles, reducing heat, and absorbing such pollutants as carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. Trees remove this air pollution by lowering air temperature, through respiration, and by retaining particulates. الأشجار تنقى الهواء وتخفف من درجة الحرارة بامتصاص العناصر السامة في الهواء . 7. Trees Shade and Cool Shade resulting in cooling is what a tree is best known for. Shade from trees reduces the need for air conditioning in summer. In winter, trees break the force of winter winds, lowering heating costs. Studies have shown that parts of cities without cooling shade from trees can literally be “heat islands” with temperatures as much as 12 degrees Fahrenheit higher than surrounding areas. تعرف الأشجار بقوتها في مجال تخفيف الحرارة وتوفير الظلال وتقليل من قوة الرياح الشتوية لتساعد على التدفئة . 8. Trees Act as Windbreaks During windy and cold seasons, trees located on the windward side act as windbreaks. A windbreak can lower home heating bills up to 30% and have a significant effect on reducing snow drifts. A reduction in wind can also reduce the drying effect on soil and vegetation behind the windbreak and help keep precious topsoil in place. تعمل الأشجار ككاسر للرياح القوية شتاءً وتخفض من فاتورة الكهرباء حتى 30 %  كم تعمل على التخفيف من تأثيرات الرياح مثل تجفيف التربة أو نقل الصقيع ومن جرف التربة السطحية . 9. Trees Fight Soil Erosion Erosion control has always started with tree and grass planting projects. Tree roots bind the soil and their leaves break the force of wind and rain on soil. Trees fight soil erosion, conserve rainwater and reduce water runoff and sediment deposit after storms. الأشجار توقف الجرف وتعرية التربة بوقف جرف المياه للتربة السطحية. 10. Trees Increase Property Values Real estate values increase when trees beautify a property or neighborhood. Trees can increase the property value of your home by 15% or more. ترفع الأشجار من قيمة الأرض بنسبة 15 %